


give me something to fight for

by HeatherMcnamara (SmoshArrowverseFan)



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: F/F, M/M, Multi, Mutual Pining, Pining, Zombie Apocalypse, dont worry if you dont like the family members, ill add tags as needed, lots of pining, theyre side characters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-19
Updated: 2018-01-19
Packaged: 2019-03-06 15:30:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13414212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SmoshArrowverseFan/pseuds/HeatherMcnamara
Summary: Jeremy just wanted to survive high school and maybe get with his best friend, but life has a way of throwing you curveballs. Of course, this curveball is on fire and wants to eat Jeremy's face. Jeremy and his friends are thrust into a world where the rules are being redefined. He just wants to keep the people he cares about safe, but with all sorts of new threats, he isn't sure how to do that.He could use some tips right about now.





	give me something to fight for

**Author's Note:**

> uhhh have fun i guess :)

Things did get blurry over time, but one thing that Jeremy remembered vividly was the night before everything went to hell. Michael and Jeremy were having of their regular sleepovers when the world ended. Michael's moms had headed out a few hours ago for their yearly trip to Georgia, leaving Michael and Jeremy with instructions to get some sleep. Jeremy and Michael had failed level seventeen of Apocalypse of the Damned when they decided to call it a night. They went through their normal bedroom routine and got into their sleeping bags.

Soon, Michael's snores were audible, and Jeremy was left staring up at the ceiling that was as familiar as the one above his bed, thinking about the boy next to him. Jeremy was pretty sure he had a crush on his best friend, which was absolutely a bad thing, because Michael absolutely didn't like him back. Even if Christine (who he had had a month-long relationship with before they mutually decided that it wasn't working) thought he did, she was wrong. Not only that, but Jeremy was pretty sure that Michael was straight. Crushes on straight boys never worked out. Not that he'd had too many, unless you counted that week-long crush on Jake. Which Jeremy didn't.

He'd tried to get over his crush on Michael, but being around him pretty much all the time made that hard. Every time Michael talked about something he was passionate about, or laughed, or poked his tongue out of the corner of his mouth while playing video games, Jeremy melted. It was the best and the worst feeling. Somehow, Jeremy drifted off while thinking about Michael's perfect hair.

Jeremy woke up to screaming and his phone buzzing incessantly. He groaned and propped himself up.

"Dude, what time is it?" He mumbled. When he got no response, he opened his eyes. Michael was nowhere to be seen. He stood up. "Michael? Where are you?"

He stayed quiet, waiting for a response, but the house was silent. Jeremy was about to check his phone, which was still buzzing, when he heard another scream. That was definitely Michael.

"Michael? Are you alright?" Jeremy shouted up the stairs.

"Jere! Get up here!" Michael said, and Jeremy could hear the fear in his voice. He shot to his feet and bolted up the stairs. There was nobody in the kitchen, but the phone was blaring an emergency alert and the door was hanging open.

"Where are you?" He called.

"Ugh- living room! Hurry up! And grab the frying pan!" Michael said.

"What the fuck?"

"Just- just do it!" Michael shouted, and, sensing the urgency in Michael's voice, grabbed the frying pan from the stove and ran into the living room. He took in Michael pushing someone back with a chair. Their face was red and bloated, and a dark substance was leaking from their eyes.

"Dude, what are you doing? Who is that?" Jeremy asked. Michael turned to him, clearly freaking out.

"Jer, he's trying to eat me! Look, he's got a bite mark on his arm! He's a zombie!" He said. Jeremy laughed nervously.

"You know that's not possible..." He said, as Michael struggled to keep them back.

"Yeah? That's what we thought about fucking... evil tic tacs, but look where we are! Gimme the frying pan, I'm gonna push it back and we're gonna make a run for it!"

"Catch!" Jeremy said, tossing over the frying pan and grabbing the item closest to him, which happened to be a lamp. Luckily, Michael managed to catch the pan. He gave one final push with the chair, then hit the zombie with the pan.

"Jeremy, come on!" Michael pulled his friend toward the front door. Michael yanked at the door, but it wouldn't budge.

"Shit, it's locked. The keys are in the kitchen. I'll be right back!" Michael said, bolting for the kitchen. The zombie, who he now recognized as Michael's neighbor who used to babysit them stumbled toward Jeremy, who brandished the lamp like a baseball bat.

"Michael!" He called.

"Coming!" Michael shouted back, and appeared around the corner as Michael's neighbor reached Jeremy. Jeremy swung the lamp at the zombie, who stumbled back into Michael. Michael swung the pan back and hit the zombie with it, shoving him back to Jeremy, who struck it again. Jeremy noticed another zombie lurching in through the back door.

"Michael, come on!" He shouted. Michael jumped around his neighbor and pushed the key into the lock. Frantically, he pulled the door open and pulled Jeremy out with him, slamming the door behind him.

"Holy shit, oh my God. It's the zombie apocalypse. Jesus Christ," Jeremy said.

"Remember the plan? We've gotta get to the meeting place," Michael said. Like any sane friend group, the Squip Squad had a plan for the zombie apocalypse. Rich and Jake had watched nothing but apocalypse movies for a month, and had insisted that they have a plan. Jenna had scoffed when Rich brought it up, since the zombie apocalypse 'wasn't ever going to happen anyway', but Rich had replied by asking her how likely it was that they would be taken over by evil tic tacs, which grudgingly got her to contribute.

It had been Rich who had formulated the plan for the most part, while Michael and Jeremy had pointed out all the flaws. It seemed like everyone had a different priority. In the end, they had all agreed to meet up at Christine's. From there, they would decide where they wanted to go. Rich had looked up which states were most likely to survive a zombie apocalypse, and New Jersey was dead last.

So yeah, they had to get out of Jersey.

They got into Michael's PT Cruiser, which was luckily close to a full tank of gas. They sat for a moment, breathing heavily. The air inside still smelled like weed.

"Oh my God... Jeremy, my moms are out there..." Michael seemed to finally process this. He slumped back. Jeremy said nothing, too freaked out to speak, but put a hand on Michael's shoulder. Michael leaned into Jeremy, who could feel Michael shaking. The world had flipped upside down. Michael's moms were in danger, everyone they knew was in danger now. Speaking of...

"Shit, my dad."

Michael looked up, tears staining his face.

"We sh-should go t-to your house. Get you-our meds, and d-dad," Michael choked, and Jeremy nodded.

"I can drive if you want," He said, concerned. Michael nodded, and the two climbed over each other to switch places. Michael curled up and stared at the floor as Jeremy started the engine and pulled out of the driveway. He pressed play and the Bob Marley CD started playing. It was a mix Jeremy had made with Michael's moms' help for his fourteenth birthday. All of Michael's favorite Marley songs were on it. He heard Michael shift next to him.

As he passed the familiar houses near Michael's house, he saw several figures shambling around. He recognized one as Mrs. Donoghue, who always made them brownies when they mowed her lawn. Another one was missing an arm and leaving a trail of blood behind it, and at that point Jeremy had to avert his eyes.

"Jeremy?" Michael said softly.

"Yeah?"

"Promise me... we'll always be a team."

"Michael..."

"Promise me. Please."

"I... We'll always be a team, Michael. You and me against the world."

"Thank you," Michael said, seemingly satisfied. Jeremy focused on the road, and ignored how uncertain his promise was.

As they closed in on Jeremy's house, the crowd of zombies seemed to grow larger. That made sense, seeing as Jeremy's house was in a more densely populated area. Jeremy passed a man as he was pulled into a small group of zombies. Jeremy was suddenly pulled back to the play just a few months earlier, when Michael had thrown him the bottle of red before being held down by their other classmates. Jeremy looked over at Michael again. He was still staring at his feet.

Jeremy pulled into his driveway and cut the engine.

"Do you want to stay here while I go in?" Jeremy asked. Michael nodded. "Alright. You've still got the crowbar in the glovebox, right?" Another nod. "Okay, use that if you have too. I'll be back in fifteen minutes."

When there was no response from Michael, Jeremy took a deep breath before opening the car door and making a run for his house. He heard Michael pull the door closed behind him as he frantically searched beneath the welcome mat for the spare key. He felt the cool keys in his hand and pulled them out, quickly unlocking the door and heading inside.

"Dad?" He called, pulling the door closed behind him. "Are you there?"

The house was silent.

"Dad, please. It's me," Jeremy said, his heart heavy, preparing for the worst.

"...Jeremy?"

"Dad! Thank God, you're okay!" Jeremy said. His dad appeared at the top of the stairs looking completely and perfectly human. His face split into a grin before he practically ran down the stairs to envelop Jeremy in a hug.

"I'm so glad, you're safe. I've been listening to the news all morning, it's all the same emergency broadcast!" He pushed Jeremy back to examine him. "Is Michael alright? Jasmine and Adena?"

Jeremy looked down.

"Oh, Jeremy, I'm so sorry... Are any of them alright?" Mr. Heere asked.

"Michael is... he's in the car. But his moms went on their trip to Georgia last night..." He said, and Mr. Heere shook his head sadly.

"That poor kid..."

"We're going to meet up with our friends at Christine's and come up with a plan there," Jeremy said. Mr. Heere nodded.

"Alright. Well, we're going to need your insulin and glucagon, and rescue food... Food in general. And water. I think I've got some camping gear in the basement too, tents, sleeping bags, a camp stove... camp cooking stuff. And my knife. And get your clothes. Just put them on on top of your pajamas. You have your phone, right?"

"Aw, shit, I left it at Michael's."

"That's fine. Just get your clothes. And that radio you keep in your room, the one with the built in flashlight. I can handle everything else," Mr. Heere said, before heading to the basement to grab supplies. Jeremy made his way upstairs to his room. His backpack was on the floor by his bed, the one Rich had written 'boyf' on months ago. He unzipped it and shook his school supplies out. He grabbed the radio from his nightstand and put it in his bag. He eyed the rest of his room.

He had a baseball bat in his closet from when he played in elementary school. He took it out and put it next to the backpack. He had some spare batteries in there too, and dropped them in the backpack. What else? He'd read countless lists of stuff to pack in the zombie apocalypse, what did they always say to have? A book and cards... He glanced at his bookshelf. What was a feel good book? The Lightning Thief caught his eye. Of course. He grabbed it and put it in his bag. After a moment of hesitation, he grabbed Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone as well. He had a deck of pac-man playing cards that Christine had gotten him for his last birthday, which he grabbed as well.

Anything else? His eye caught on his bulletin board. He looked over the pictures he had pinned up over the years. A lot of them were of him and Michael over the years. Him and Michael before various dances, on playgrounds, playing games, laughing... Some were of him and his dad. There was one still up that was of him and both of his parents. He had taken down most of those, but he had left the one of them at the county fair. There was one of Jeremy with his childhood dog, Sebastian. There were a few of him and Christine, and one of him and the guys. There was one of him with all of his friends, each posing ridiculously.

He took the one of him and his parents at the fair, one of him and Michael playing games, and one where they were posing before middle school graduation. He took a selfie of himself and Christine on their second date, and both group pictures. Finally, he took the picture of himself and Sebastian, because he really had loved his dog. He zipped up his backpack.  
He made his way to the closet and started laying on as many clothes as possible. When he was absurdly layered, he made his way to the bathroom to grab his toothbrush and toothpaste, before putting on his backpack and heading downstairs. His dad came up moments later, being pulled down by camping gear and backpacks.

"Alright, so, we ready to go, Private?"

"I guess so... There are a lot of them outside, so we'll have to get in fast and we'll put the stuff in the trunk from the car. Sound good?" Jeremy asked. His dad nodded.

"Sounds like a plan, Jeremy. Make a run for it on three?" He asked. Jeremy nodded. "Alright. One... two... three!"

Mr. Heere pulled the door open and the two bolted toward Michael's car as best as they could, being weighed down by luggage. Several zombies took notice of them and started shambling toward them as the two Heeres quickly got into the car. Michael's head snapped up the moment the car doors opened. Jeremy closed the driver seat door closed as his dad crawled into the back seat. Mr. Heere shoved the tent off of him so he could sit down, but a zombie had grabbed onto his leg. He kicked back as Jeremy tried to scream, and the zombie fell back. Mr. Heere slammed the door behind him, before shoving everything into the trunk. Jeremy tossed his backpack into the back seat and started the engine as more zombies approached.

"Hello, Michael!" Mr. Heere panted.

"Hi, Mr. Heere. I'm glad you're alright," Michael said, still not looking up. Jeremy quickly backed out of the driveway, hitting a zombie but not caring.

"That was close," Mr. Heere commented.

"Yeah," Jeremy said, adrenaline still pumping as he made his way to Christine's house, not caring that he was speeding. He was glad they had picked Christine's house as the meeting place, as she was in the least populated area in town. The crowd of zombies thinned as he got closer to Christine's house. They passed a few more living people struggling against zombies, but Jeremy pretended he didn't see and nodded his head to Bob Marley's "Redemption Songs". If Michael or his dad noticed, they didn't say anything.

Jeremy reached Christine's house and was relieved to see a few more cars in her driveway. He recognized Jake's Toyota Camry and Jenna's Honda Accord next to Christine's family's new Honda CR-V. He was thankful for Christine's large garage as he parked.

"Alright, we're here," Jeremy said, unbuckling his seatbelt and getting out of the car. His dad and Michael followed suit, and they walked to Christine's front door together. Jeremy rang the doorbell, and moments later the door swung open to reveal a frazzled and then relieved Christine.

"Thank goodness you're okay!" She said, pulling Jeremy and Michael into a hug. "Hi, Mr. Heere."

"Hello, Christine."

"I'm glad you're okay, too. Is anyone else here?" Jeremy asked. Christine pulled back and frowned.

"Yeah, Jenna and her sister showed up first. Then Jake came with Madeline around fifteen minutes ago," She said. Jeremy blinked.

"Like, Madeline, Madeline?" He asked. Christine nodded.

"Yeah, the one who pretends she's French. Come on, get inside."

They stepped inside and Mr. Heere pulled the door closed behind him.

"Have you heard anything from anyone else?" Jeremy asked. Christine shook her head.

"Nope. On a related note, why the heck haven't you replied to my texts?" Christine glared at him. Jeremy frowned and looked down.

"I left my phone in Michael's basement."

"Oh," Christine said, finally noticing Michael's uncharacteristic silence. "Alright. Do you guys want something to drink? We have water, coke, diet coke for you if you want, Jeremy, and lemonade."

"I'll have water, thanks," Jeremy said.

"Is lemonade alright?" Mr. Heere asked unabashedly. Christine nodded.

"Of course. Anything for you, Michael?"

Michael shook his head. "I'm good."

Christine nodded. "Alright. Well, everyone else is in the living room, freaking out. My mom already left for work, so it's just all of us and the twins, for now. I'm sure everyone else is going to show up..." She mumbled, sounding more like she was trying to convince herself than anyone else. Mr. Heere followed her into the kitchen, offering to help her out.  
Jeremy lead Michael into the living room, where Jake was pacing with his phone to his ear and Jenna was fervently texting. Jenna's older sister, Becca, was nowhere to be seen. The twins were on the floor playing cards, and Madeline seemed to be... theatrically passed out on the couch.

Jenna noticed them first and stood up to hug them.

“Thank God you guys are okay! We've been trying to contact you since we woke up,” She said. Jake put down the phone and rushed over.

“Have you guys heard from Rich? Or Chloe and Brooke?” He asked frantically.

“Yes, we're fine, thanks for asking. And no. My phone's still in Michael's basement,” Jeremy said, and Michael huffed.

“I'm going to be in the kitchen with Christine,” He said before stalking off past the twins. Jake and Jenna looked at Jeremy, concerned.

“Is he alright?” Jenna asked. Jeremy shook his head.

“His moms are on their annual trip to Georgia. He's gonna need some time to process,” Jeremy frowned. Jake and Jenna nodded.

“Alright. I'm going to keep trying to get in contact with… anyone,” Jenna said, pulling her phone out. Jake shifted anxiously.

“Jake, you can keep trying to call Rich, you don't have to stay with me.”

Jake frowned. “You sure?" Jeremy nodded. "Alright. Thanks, man.”

Jeremy glanced between Madeline and the twins. He decided to sit next to the twins.

“Hey, guys,” He grinned. Tracie and Danny looked up at him.

“Jeremy!” Danny cheered. Jeremy smiled back. He loved the twins. When he had dated Christine he had gotten close to her family, and had continued to babysit them with her afterward.

“Hey, guys! What are you playing?”

“Egyptian rummy, but Tracie’s cheating!” Danny pouted. Tracie shook her head.

“No I'm not!”

“You are! You're looking at the cards when you play them! You can't do that, it's cheating!”

“It's not my fault I'm slow!”

“Yes it is!”

“Can you please quiet down over there? I'm trying to sleep,” Madeline groaned from the coach.

“It's the middle of the day, lady, wake up already!” Tracie said, and Madeline huffed. Jeremy and Jenna made eye contact as they stifled laughter, despite the situation. In that moment, nothing felt real. Jeremy hadn't fought Michael's zombie neighbor. Then the doorbell rang, and Jeremy snapped back to the present. Jake rushed to get the door, Jeremy and Jenna close on his heels. Jake swung the door open and Rich was standing there looking exhausted.

“Rich!” Jake said, enveloping him in a hug and completely ignoring the two people behind Rich.

“Jake, I'm so glad you're alright dude, but can you let us inside before the big reunion hug?” Rich asked. Jake pulled back, flushed.

“Yeah, sorry about that,” He stepped aside as Rich and the two people behind him stepped into the house. One was Dustin Kropp, who Jeremy recognized. The other looked like a slightly older, slightly taller, and slightly less buff Rich.

“Uh, you guys know Dustin, right? And this is my brother, Ben,” Rich said. Ben gave a little wave.

“Hi.”

“Anyway, is everyone else okay?” Rich asked.

“Everyone except Chloe and Brooke is already here,” Jenna said.

“Michael's moms were on their way to Georgia when everything went down, and Christine's mom left for work. We're not sure if she's coming back,” Jeremy added. Rich nodded.  
“Okay,” He said, as Christine came into the room carrying drinks. She handed a coke to both Jenna and Jake, and a glass of water to Jeremy. Jeremy's dad was sipping a lemonade behind her.

“Rich, you made it!” Christine smiled and hugged him before turning to Dustin and Ben. “Hi, I'm Christine. Have we met?”

Jeremy tuned out as everyone was introduced. He was worried about Chloe and Brooke. Not only that, he was worried about Michael. He headed into the kitchen and found Michael sitting on a kitchen stool and staring into Christine’s marble countertops like they were the most interesting surface in the world. Or more likely, like they could bring his moms to him. Jeremy sat down next to him.

“Hey.”

Michael looked up at him and then back to the counter. “Hey.”

“I'm sorry about your moms,” Jeremy said. Michael frowned.

“Yeah, well, it's not your fault.”

“No. It's not. It's not your fault either,” Jeremy said, and Michael finally looked up.

“What?”

“I know you, Michael. That's your guilty face. And I'm going to tell you what my best friend told me when my parents got a divorce. He said to me, Jeremy? None of this was your fault. You couldn't have done anything to prevent it from happening. And I'm going to tack on my own words. You had no idea this was going to happen. Your moms would have gone on the trip no matter what. Your moms, they would want you to stay strong. To survive, so that maybe, you can find them again.”

Michael glared at him. “What the hell do you know? You aren't their son.”

Jeremy held back the emotional response threatening to bubble out. “I practically was,” was what he settled for. Michael's glare softened, before he sighed.

“You're right. You were. But let me have time, alright?”

Jeremy nodded. “Of course. And if you need anything… remember, I'm your player two.”

“I know,” Michael said, managing a weak smile. “Can you give me a minute?”

Jeremy nodded and headed back into the living room. He had just sat down when the doorbell rang and Jake practically sprinted to open the door. Jeremy stood up to see who it was.

"Chloe, Brooke, thank God! We've been trying to contact you all day!" Jake said. The two girls stepped into the house, followed by several more people.

"Mr. Reyes?" Christine said. Indeed, the theatre teacher was standing behind Chloe. In addition, Jeremy recognized Chloe's parents, Brooke's parents, and Brooke's little sister, Sarah. Brooke's parents were pretty high up executives, whereas Chloe's were just... average.

"Hey," Jake greeted them. Mr. Valentine nodded.

"Hi, Jake."

"Ah, would you like to come in, make yourself at home? Now that everyone's here we can come up with a plan," Christine said. Mr. Lohst laughed and Brooke suddenly found Christine's floor fascinating.

"Of course. Thank you. We'll talk things over with your parents and decide where to hole up until the military can fix things," He said. Rich huffed.

"I'm sorry, have you ever seen a zombie movie? The military can never fix anything!" He said. Mr. Lohst laughed again.

"You're Richard, right? Well, Richard, movies aren't like real life. The military can handle this."

"Where are your parents, anyway?" Mrs. Lohst asked. Jeremy glanced into the living room.

"My dad's sleeping on the couch," He said.

"And the rest of your parents?"

"They're not here," Jenna said quickly, avoiding any unnecessary drama. Mrs. Lohst sniffed.

"Brooke, Chloe, you and Sarah stay with your friends. Mr. Reyes, please come with us into the kitchen. And young man, wake up your father, please," Mr. Lohst said, before he lead the adults to the kitchen. Mr. Reyes paused before following them dazedly. Jeremy shook his father awake as everyone started talking at once.

"Who the fuck do they think they are?" Rich whispered angrily.

"Rich! Language!" Christine gestured toward the twins.

"What is she doing here?" Chloe said, ignoring Rich and glaring at Madeline, who huffed and crossed her arms.

"It's none of your business," Madeline replied.

"Can you guys calm down, please?" Christine asked.

"Not until someone tells me why this bitch is here!" Chloe said.

"Guys, what's going on? Who're the people who kicked me out of the kitchen? Oh, hi Brooke," Michael said.

"Hi Michael." Brooke smiled.

"It's Chloe and Brooke's parents, Michael... Uh, give me a second... Dad, wake up."

"I have just as much a right to be here as you!" Madeline snapped.

"Are you for real? Who even brought you?"

"Can you guys quiet down?" Dustin mumbled.

"God, I'm glad I'm not a teenager anymore," Becca nudged Ben, who gave a small laugh in return.

"Huh, Jeremy? What's going on?" Mr. Heere asked.

"Brooke and Chloe's parents are here, they're meeting in the kitchen," Jeremy said. Mr. Heere nodded and headed into the kitchen.

"As a matter of fact, Jake picked me up!" Madeline said.

"Jake! You know I hate her!" Chloe said. Jake frowned.

"Yeah, but I wasn't about to let her die, Chlo!"

"Well, yeah, but drop her off at a gas station on the way or something!"

"Chloe, you are being kind of harsh..." Brooke mumbled. Chloe frowned but stayed silent.

"Hah!" Madeline said. Chloe glowered.

"Guys, zombies are attracted to noise, shut up," Rich said. Jenna looked unconvinced.

"Are you sure? I mean, we can't know that they're accurate to whatever movies you guys watched until we see them in action," She said.

"I dunno, it's best to play it safe," Jake said.

"Thank you, Jake," Rich said. The room was quiet for a moment and Jeremy could hear voices rising in the kitchen. He glanced nervously at Michael who sat down next to him. Sensing his concern, Michael leaned into him.

"We'll be okay, you said yourself," He whispered, and Jeremy relaxed for a moment, before Mr. Lohst walked back into the living room.

"Alright! Here's the plan. We're going to start driving to DC. We should be safe there, the military should be swarming that area," He said. Rich let out a groan.

"DC? That's the third worst place in the U.S. during a zombie apocalypse! I looked it up!" He said. Mr. Lohst. frowned at him.

"You're being ridiculous, Richard. Do I have to reiterate, this is real life. On that note, we've decided seating arrangements for the trip. Mr. Reyes, if you will."

Mr. Reyes pulled out a sheet of paper and placed it on the table. Michael noted that he'd be with his dad, Mr. Reyes, Christine, and Michael. He also noticed that Mrs. Valentine would be driving Chloe, Madeline, and the twins, which was sure to be interesting, to say the least. He glanced at Chloe and saw her glaring at the paper as if willing it to burst into flames.

"Dad, why can't I be in the car with Chloe?" Brooke asked. Mr. Lohst laughed.

"You'll see her soon enough, dear. Now, I'll be taking my car, and we'll want to take the other four cars as well. Mr. Valentine will be driving alone, so he'll take your family's car if that's alright Christine. Lots of trunk space," Christine nodded. "Alright. Then, Jake? Mrs. Valentine will be driving your car, and Ben can take Jenna's. Mr. Heere will be driving Michael's car. Now I suggest we clean the house of food and supplies so we can be prepared, and load those into the cars."

Everyone started looking around the house. Jeremy followed Christine and Jenna to the pantry to grab canned food, while Michael and Brooke got blankets and sleeping bags. Becca was grabbing everything that she saw, including the radio, several books, decorative pillows, and the rug. The twins had collected their stuffed animals and toys, while Ben and Sarah were carefully looking over the Canigulas' bookshelf. Jake, Rich and Chloe were getting paper plates and also every slightly useful thing they could find. Madeline had raided Christine's movie collection, and Dustin was picking at the leftovers. The adults were looking over anything they deemed useful. Christine lead everyone through the backyard and to the garage, where Mr. Heere, Mr. Valentine, Jake, and Rich started loading up the cars.

"Alright, I printed out directions since Ben pointed out that we could lose data coverage or phone battery. I'll pass these out to each driver, and we can get on the road!" Mr. Valentine grinned. Jeremy's dad took his copy and lead Mr. Reyes, Michael, Christine, and Jeremy to the PT Cruiser. Mr. Reyes took shotgun and the teenagers squeezed into the back seats. Jeremy was sandwiched between Christine and Michael, which, to be honest, wasn't a bad place to be. It was definitely calming to be in a car with his favorite people in the world... and Mr. Reyes. He just hoped that everyone would be able to make it to DC. Christine pulled out a portable solar-powered charger and her phone and shot off a text to the group chat.

"Well, Mr. Lohst wants us to meet up at his cousin's house just outside of DC, so that's where we're headed. It'll be a long drive, so I hope you all took a bathroom break," Mr. Heere said.

"If not, I do have an empty water bottle," Mr. Reyes added helpfully. Christine smiled politely.

"I think we're good for now, thank you though."

"Alright, if you say so," He said. Jeremy looked past Michael and waved to Brooke, Jake, and Jenna as they got into Mr. Lohst's car. They waved back before stepping into the car. Mr. Heere watched as Mr. Valentine and then Mr. Lohst pulled out of the driveway, and followed suit.

"It should take us about four hours to get here, and I don't think it's advisable to stop, so get comfortable," Mr. Heere said. Jeremy nodded, leaning into Michael. Christine pressed against his other side and he sighed. His dad turned the CD on and Jeremy relaxed. Maybe Mr. Lohst was right. The military probably could clear the zombies out pretty quickly. And if not... well, he and his friends had taken down an evil brain robot with a bottle of discontinued soda. They could handle themselves.

**Author's Note:**

> heyyyyyy how was it?? i hope you enjoyed haha, lemme know what you think! i lOVE feedback yo so if you can please comment i will love you forever. have a good one!!


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